Bald Eagle Migration Update: April 27, 2005 Today's Report Includes: Today's Map and Data Field Notes from Peter Nye Immature Eagles: Oh, Grow Up! Mapping for Understanding: Juvenile Bald Eagle Behavior Exercise Try This! How Far is it? 2005 vs. 2004 Today's Map and Data It has been a busy week! Wow, what a week for flying! Read Eagleye's Field Notes carefully today for clues. Then gather your wits and get ready to focus on our map for this week's update. We'll be studying it closely to learn more about eagle behavior.   Mature Eagles Juvenile Bald Eagles (Fledglings) Golden Eagle #A20 Bald Eagle #V98 Bald Eagle #P04 Bald Eagle #Y89 Bald Eagle #Y90 Bald Eagle #Y94 Bald Eagle #Y96           Field Notes from Peter Nye Hello Eagle Trackers: Wow, what a week for flying! Here we thought/presumed that P04 and V98 were "home" simply because they had "arrived" up in Labrador and Northern Quebec. But, that's a big place and they had some more moving to do! As far as the four youngsters go, interesting things are going on with them as well. Y89 continues his explorations heading more northeast into Canada; wonder if and when he will settle for a bit? Y90 (I think a female) appears to be sticking very close to her home site, at least for the time being. Do you think males or females range farther...why? Female (suspected) Y94, in Pennsylvania last week, along the eagle-rich Delaware River, this week has also made some big northeast moves into Canada; not to far from Y89? And finally, suspected female Y96, like Y90, is also back near her original nest site and seems content in that area. Matter of fact, she has been observed by one of our volunteer nest-watchers, Scott Rando, near one of other (not her parents) nesting pairs just south of where she was born. So, two of these fledglings appear to have done what I and others suspect they do, returning to the vicinity of their own nest sites in early spring following fledging. The other two? Well, time will tell! Until next week, enjoy spring! Eagleye New York State Dept. Environmental Conservation Delmar, NY Immature Eagles: Oh, Grow Up! Why might the migration of a juvenile eagle be different from the migration of an adult eagle? Each spring, we're so busy tracking eagles as they migrate back to their nests, that we often forget about the many birds who are too young to nest. After all, it takes Bald Eagles somewhere between three and a half and five years to grow in the white head and tail feathers that mark them as adults, and some of them don't actually start breeding until they are seven years old. This spring we have had a real treat! We have had a chance to satellite track 4 young eagles. Learn more background about young eagles then use this Reading/Writing Connection to focus on your reading skills this week: Juvenile Eagle Behavior A Reading and Writing Connection Mapping for Understanding: Juvenile Bald Eagle Behavior Exercise What can we learn about eagles through satellite tracking? How far and how fast do they travel? Do they tend to stay in one place or move about often? What paths do they chose to follow, and why? You be the eagle biologist now, and study each of the juvenile bald eagles through snapshots of their sighting locations. What you can learn? Example: Print map and write in location information. Use scale to determine distances traveled. Click map for full-sized map, print and study each eagle's behavior. Mapping Juveniles: A Behavior Study Get out your rulers and sharpen your pencils! Try This! How Far is it? This week Eagleye reminds us that the province Quebec is really big. How big is it to an eagle? Our mature bald eagles have flown from the border with the US almost all the way to the north end of Quebec during the past 2 weeks. Open your atlas to find the following: Locate Ungava Bay on Quebecs north coast. Use the map scale to measure the distance from Ungava Bay to the US border near Lake Champlain in Vermont/New York. How far is it? Use your maps to calculate how far each of the 2 juvenile eagles has flown from their "final" locations reported last week. * Extra Credit: What fraction of the total length (north to south) of Quebec have the eagles traveled? 2005 vs. 2004 Compare the location of Bald eagle V98 in the spring of 2004 with this spring. Where do you predict V98 will nest this year? Eagle Map 2004 Eagle Map 2005 (Today's map) The Next Bald Eagle Migration Update Will Be Posted on May 4, 2005. Copyright 1997-2005 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to jn-help@learner.org